"When I got there I realised that it was what I wanted to do," he says. The spur for Wilson in choosing filmmaking as a career came from a friend sending him a pamphlet for the London International Film School. On the face of it this makes sense, as Wilson is Scandinavian (he explains that his surname comes from a stray Scotsman who went to Norway in the 1850s), but he does not see much Nordic influence on his work. Another influence was the cinematography of Nestor Almendros, who photographed several Truffaut films, including The Man Who Loved Women (1977), and Pauline At The Beach (1983) for Rohmer, as well as Terrence Malick's Days Of Heaven (1978).įrom this Ayoade and Wilson decided to light as little of Submarine as possible, an intention which he says does have echoes of the Dogme school of Danish filmmaking. "We watched a lot of films for reference, most of them coming from 1970s French cinema." These included the character studies of Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer's comedies of manners. "Richard had very clear ideas about many aspects of the visuals for the film," comments Wilson. This sounds a quintessentially suburban English suburban scenario but Ayoade, who is best known as the super geek Moss in The IT Crowd, and Wilson took inspiration for the look from elsewhere. It stars Considine and Sally Hawkins, with Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate, a 15-year old with two major aims – to lose his virginity and stop his parents splitting up. A truly fantastic British debut.Submarine was adapted by Ayoade from the novel by poet Joe Dunthorne. If this isn’t enough to get people in the cinemas then it is also worth mentioning that the Arctic Monkeys front man, Alex Turner, has contributed five original songs to the film, all of which work very well. Ayoade even has a little fun with his style, zooming out at the exact point the protagonist complains the biopic of his life would use a zoom out as a budget would not allow a crane shot. The freeze frame, slow motion, blacked out soliloquies and the new wave jump cut are all visible in the film, provoking critics to yell ‘pretentious’. Ayoade achieves both style and substance, demonstrating that he is not afraid to try a few little tricks with his direction. It is a great story with great characters and is beautifully shot. This is demonstrated when an angry Oliver breaks into Graham the mystic’s house and uses urine and arson as a means of revenge. Ayoade still however, finds comedy in the darkest of themes. The film at this point becomes so much more than a comedy and the scenes in which Oliver is there (and sometimes not there) for Jordana are truly moving. Tate (another solid Sally Hawkins performance)’s infidelities with the mystic next door, played as well as could be by Paddy Considine. What we then get, up until the hilarious evening of seduction is light-hearted comedy, with the strange young protagonist the main point of laughter.Īfter the said evening, with Oliver and Jordana now a very likeable little couple, the film takes a turn and becomes a tragic-comedy, finding comedy in dark themes such as depression, terminal illness and, of course, Mrs. Worried by the fact his parents are no longer having sex, (he has a system for checking) Oliver sets his sights on Jordana Bevan, in a quest to have some sex of his own. The film starts as an offbeat, somewhat surreal comedy, following the misunderstood ‘prominent thinker’ Oliver Tate. These are just subtle driving forces, allowing us to explore Oliver Tate, one of the greatest British comedy film characters of the last ten years. Do not be led astray by the advertising of Submarine that suggests this film is just about a teenage boy trying to lose his virginity and keep his parents together, it is much more than that. The package Ayoade wraps however, provides something very fresh. The plot of a tortured, socially awkward (but destined for great things in his own mind) teen, on a quest to lose his virginity isn’t particularly original. Submarine is the 80’s coming-of-age story of Oliver Tate, played weirdly wonderful by Craig Roberts. Basing the script on the Joe Dunthorne novel of the same name, Ayoade’s script oozes style, perfectly blending hilarious comedy and touching drama. In addition to proving himself pretty handy behind the camera, showing vision and imagination, Ayoade also proves himself as a fine screenwriter. Proving he can do so much more than drink milk and kick ass, The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade bursts onto the British film scene with his impressive directorial debut, Submarine.
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